Rhode Island's BIPOC Heritage

Resources on Rhode Island's BIPOC History and Heritage

With this page, the Newport Historical Society seeks to bring the history of people of Native American and African descent in Rhode Island into a more public light. In addition, it seeks to highlight the role that Newport citizens played in the history of the transatlantic slave trade of the 18th and 19th centuries, and in the institution of slavery in the Americas.

Frederick Douglass and His Abolitionist Friends in Newport and New Bedford

In this article by John M. Rice, the great-great-grandson of Isaac Rice, considered to be one of the most illustrious citizens of nineteenth-century Newport, John traces his ancestor’s leadership in the antislavery movement in Newport by drawing on family papers and artifacts, as well as archival records, biographies, and other accounts. Opening with a letter written by the great abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass to Isaac Rice’s daughter, Mary Ann C. Rice Remington in 1860, John describes the web of abolitionist connections and activism by members of the Rice family and their distinguished antislavery colleagues.
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The first European settlers on Aquidneck Island purchased the right to settle here from the native inhabitants in 1638, with Newport being founded the following year. Despite an agreement stipulating that those first residents would vacate the island, there is evidence in the historical record that that native peoples continued to actively engage – socially and economically – with the new European settlers. This digital exhibit highlights some of this evidence in the historical record, including documents and objects.

Benevolence and Success in the Era of Slavery: Duchess Quamino and William Ellery Channing

Please enjoy this illustrated Black History Month lecture, “Benevolence and Success in the Era of Slavery: Duchess Quamino and William Ellery Channing,” presented by Akeia de Barros Gomes, Ph.D., anthropologist, senior curator of Maritime Social Histories at the Mystic Seaport Museum, and Visiting Scholar at the Slavery and Justice Center at Brown University. Here, Dr. de Barros Gomes explores the life and relationships of Duchess Quamino of Newport, the formerly enslaved nanny and baker to the family of William Ellery Channing, a Unitarian minister and prominent Newport citizen.

This lecture was presented live at Channing Memorial Church in February 2022, through association with the Rhode Island Slave History Medallions project.

Abolition & Anti-Abolition

A recent issue of the peer-reviewed publication 'Newport History: Journal of the Newport Historical Society' featured the article “Abolition and Anti-Abolition in Newport, Rhode Island, 1835-1866,” by Joey La Neve DeFrancesco. Click the link below to learn how a determined and cohesive African-American community overcame the maneuvers of the local powerful pro-slavery bloc, and succeeded in building institutions that had a profound impact on the lives of black Newporters in the nineteenth century.
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Resource Guides and Blog Posts

Digital Resource Guide — Rhode Island’s African American History

Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) Resources on African American...

History Bytes: Centering Colonial Newport’s BIPOC Heritage

This is a guest blog post by Rebecca Farias, MA...

The Labor behind the Learned: A Reexamination of Ezra Stiles

This is a guest blog post by Sam Dinnie (they/them),...

Solidarity with the South: Newport NAACP’s Boycotts in 1960

This is a guest blog post by Lindsey Smith (she/her),...

History Bytes: Reading between the Lines for Obour Tanner

This is a guest blog post by Amelia Yeager (she/her),...

History Bytes: Phillis Wheatley’s Newport Mercury Connection

This is a guest blog post by Amelia Yeager (she/her),...

History Bytes: The Walker Building

The Walker Building, present-day 9 & 11 Bridge Street is...

History Bytes: What’s in a Name?

Zoe Hume, MS graduate, Florida State University, is one of...

History Bytes: The Person Behind the Name

Zoe Hume, MS graduate, Florida State University, is one of...

History Bytes: Quaker Records of Manumission

Alexander Bice, MA graduate, Northeastern University, is one of the...

History Bytes: The Life and Travels of Newport Gardener

Guest post by Kristin Uscinski, co-host of the podcast ‘Footnoting...

History Bytes: Bond and Indenture Agreements

Hampton Smith, Ph.D. student, MIT, is one of the 2021...

History Bytes: Perspective, in and on the Archives

Hampton Smith, Ph.D. student, MIT, is one of the 2021...

History Bytes: The Log of the Greyhound

Alexander Bice, MA graduate, Northeastern University, is one of the...

History Bytes: Newport’s Slave Trade Through a Global Lens

Hampton Smith, Ph.D. student, MIT, is one of the 2021...

History Bytes: Slavery and Marriage

Zoe Hume, MS graduate, Florida State University, is one of...

History Bytes: Caesar Babcock’s Pension

Alexander Bice, MA graduate, Northeastern University, is one of the...

History Bytes: Just out of Reach

This is a guest blog post by Laura Bacon, BA,...

History Bytes: Female Enslavers in 18th Century Newport

This is a guest blog post by Maureen Iplenski, MA/PhD...

History Bytes: “One-Third” & “One-Half” – Shared Ownership of Enslaved Persons

This is a guest blog post by Maureen Iplenski, MA/PhD...

Precious Stones: The Carved Markers at God's Little Acre

This article in Preservation Magazine features Newport’s own God’s Little Acre, a portion of the Common Burying Ground devoted mostly to individuals of African descent, dating back to 1705. God’s Little Acre is perhaps the richest and most evocative space in the built environment of Newport: Preserving it may be one of the most important things any of us are doing now. For those who are interested specifically in the population of people of color in Newport, and for anyone interested, in a very personal sense, of who lived here and what their lives entailed, read more by clicking the button below.
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Touching Base: Race, Sport, and Community in Newport

Please enjoy free access to an article from 'Newport History', the flagship peer-reviewed publication of the Newport Historical Society! Across the country in June 2020, leaders tipped their caps to honor the creation of the Negro Leagues in 1920. "Touching Base: Race, Sport, and Community in Newport," originally published by Robert Cvornyek in the Winter 2016 issue of "Newport History," uncovers a wealth of information about local African-American teams and players, the integration of baseball in Newport and the visits to the city of elite Negro League teams. Access to our complete journal archive is included with NHS Membership.
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Chasing Phillis Wheatley

Uncovering other possibilities from the past. By Tara A. Bynum.

Phillis Wheatley was a celebrated poet and the first African-American author of a published book of poetry; she was also a formerly-enslaved woman living in 18th century Boston. In this essay, Tara A. Bynum, an assistant professor of English and African American Studies at the University of Iowa, writes about her experience of Phillis Wheatley’s humor, faith, and character through reading her personal correspondence.

African American Church Membership of Hotel Era Newport

This social history mapping project focuses on Newport’s mid-to-late nineteenth century African American community, using data compiled from from local church records, census documents, and maps from the NHS collection. Click the link below to explore the project.